Statute of Limitations Lookup

Use when a lawyer or claimant needs to know the limitation period for a specific claim type in a specific jurisdiction — including the start-date rules (accrual, discovery), tolling and suspension events, and whether limitation is procedural (raised by defendant) or substantive (raised by court ex officio). Covers KSA, UAE, Lebanon, Egypt, France, England, and the US. Critical practice-area flag: limitation is one of the most common reasons claims fail; always check before advising on whether to file.

Statute of Limitations Lookup

Determine the applicable limitation period for a specific claim in a specific jurisdiction, including the start-date rule, tolling and suspension mechanisms, and the critical procedural-vs-substantive distinction. A missed limitation period is one of the most common and least-excusable failures in legal practice; this skill exists to prevent it.

When to use this

Before advising a client whether to file a claim
When assessing whether a potential defendant can raise a time-bar defense
In due diligence: checking whether target-company liabilities are time-barred
When drafting contractual limitation clauses (checking against statutory floors and ceilings)
When evaluating whether a limitation period has been extended by negotiation, part-payment, or acknowledgment of liability

Inputs

Input	Why it matters	Default
Jurisdiction	Limitation periods vary enormously by jurisdiction	Required
Claim type	Different periods apply to contract, tort, employment, commercial, property, debt recovery, etc.	Required
Accrual date	The date the cause of action arose (when the right to sue first arose)	Provide if known
Knowledge date	For discovery-rule jurisdictions: when the claimant knew or should have known of the claim	Provide if different from accrual date
Any partial payment or acknowledgment?	These events typically restart or toll the limitation clock	Flag if known
Contractual limitation clause?	Parties may have agreed to a shorter or longer period (where permitted)	Flag if present

Limitation periods by jurisdiction

KSA (Saudi Arabia)

KSA limitation law is influenced by Sharia principles and is not comprehensively codified in a single statute. Key periods under the Commercial Court practice and implementing regulations:

Claim type	Period	Start date
Commercial claims (general)	10 years	Date of claim accrual
Negotiable instruments (cheques, promissory notes)	5 years	Date of maturity / presentment
Insurance claims	3 years	Date of loss event
Labor claims	12 months	Date of termination of employment
Statutory right to overdue salary	12 months	Date salary was due
Tax / ZATCA assessments	5 years	End of fiscal year

Sharia note: For certain Hudud criminal offenses, the concept of a fixed statute of limitations does not apply under classical Sharia jurisprudence. In practice, the Saudi commercial courts apply the periods above for commercial matters.

Practical caveat: KSA courts have discretion in some areas due to the ijtihad-based system; precise periods may vary by court division. Verify with KSA-qualified counsel for high-stakes matters.

UAE Federal

UAE limitation law is set primarily in the UAE Civil Transactions Law (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985, as amended):

Claim type	Period	Statutory basis	Start date
Commercial claims (general)	10 years	Civil Transactions Law	Date of accrual
Employment claims	1 year	Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021	Date of termination
Civil tort (general)	3 years	Civil Transactions Law	Date claimant knew of injury AND identity of tortfeasor
Civil tort (absolute bar)	15 years	Civil Transactions Law	Date of harmful act (regardless of knowledge)
Insurance	3 years	Insurance Law	Date of event giving rise to claim
Negotiable instruments	3 years (drawer v holder)	Commercial Transactions Law	Date of maturity
Real estate actions	15 years	Civil Transactions Law	Accrual

Note: Employment limitation of 1 year under FDL 33/2021 is a significant trap — in practice many employees wait more than 12 months before asserting claims, discovering the bar too late.

Lebanon

Lebanese limitation law is governed primarily by the Code of Obligations and Contracts and the Labor Law:

Claim type	Period	Source
Commercial claims (general)	10 years	Code of Commerce
Employment claims	5 years	Lebanese Labor Law
Civil personal claims (general)	30 years (ordinaire)	Code of Obligations and Contracts
Contractual claims (standard)	10 years	Code des Obligations et des Contrats
Tort (extra-contractual)	3 years from knowledge; 10-year absolute bar	Code des Obligations et des Contrats
Insurance	3 years	Insurance Law

Lebanon note: The 30-year general civil period is unusually long by international standards. In practice, evidentiary difficulties and the economic crisis make litigation on ancient claims rare, but the legal period remains.

Egypt

Claim type	Period	Source
Civil claims (general)	15 years	Egyptian Civil Code
Commercial claims (general)	10 years	Egyptian Commercial Code
Labor claims	1 year	Egyptian Labor Law
Tort	3 years from knowledge; 15-year absolute bar	Egyptian Civil Code

France

France uses the concept of "prescription extinctive" (extinctive prescription). The 2008 reform rationalized French limitation periods:

Claim type	Period	Source
Civil / commercial (general)	5 years	Article 2224 Civil Code
Consumer claims	2 years	Consumer Code
Personal injury (tort)	10 years	Article 2226 Civil Code
Real property actions	30 years	Article 2227 Civil Code
Salary claims	3 years	Labor Code

Start date rule (France): the period runs from the day the holder "knew or should have known of the facts allowing the action to be brought" — a discovery-type rule codified since 2008.

England and Wales

Claim type	Period	Statute
Contract (simple)	6 years	Limitation Act 1980, s.5
Contract (under seal / deed)	12 years	Limitation Act 1980, s.8
Tort (general)	6 years	Limitation Act 1980, s.2
Personal injury	3 years from knowledge (s.14)	Limitation Act 1980, s.11
Negligence — latent damage	3 years from knowledge; 15-year long-stop	Limitation Act 1980, ss.14A–14B
Recovery of land	12 years	Limitation Act 1980, s.15

US (general — state-by-state)

The US has no uniform federal limitation period for most civil claims; periods are set by each state:

Claim type	Typical range	Notes
Contract	3–6 years	Delaware: 3 years; New York: 6 years; California: 4 years
Tort	2–3 years	Varies significantly by state
Fraud	2–6 years (often from discovery)	Delaware: 3 years from accrual or discovery
Debt collection	3–6 years	State-specific

Delaware note: Delaware is the relevant jurisdiction for most US corporate matters. Delaware's general statute of limitations is 3 years (10 Del. C. § 8106 for most claims).

Start-date rules: accrual vs discovery

The start date for a limitation period is often the most litigated aspect:

Rule	Jurisdictions using it	Meaning
Accrual rule	UAE (civil), KSA (commercial)	Clock starts when the right to sue arose, regardless of whether the claimant knew
Discovery rule	England, France, Lebanon (tort), US (fraud/latent damage)	Clock starts when the claimant knew or should have known of the harm and its cause
Combination	Most jurisdictions: discovery-based primary period + absolute backstop long-stop	E.g., England: 3 years from knowledge but 15-year long-stop for latent damage

Tolling and suspension events

The limitation clock may be paused (tolled) or restarted by:

Event	Effect	Jurisdictions
Acknowledgment of debt / liability	Restarts the clock	England, UAE, Lebanon, France
Part payment	Restarts the clock	England, UAE, Lebanon
Filed proceedings	Suspends or stops the clock	All jurisdictions (filing a claim stops the period)
Mediation / arbitration initiated	Suspends in some jurisdictions	Check jurisdiction-specific rules
Minority or legal incapacity	Suspends	All jurisdictions (clock pauses while claimant lacks legal capacity)
Fraudulent concealment	Restarts or defers start date	England (s.32 Limitation Act), France
Force majeure / impossibility	Suspends in some jurisdictions	Lebanon, France
Contractual agreement to extend	Extends the period	Permitted in most jurisdictions; not permitted below statutory minimum

Procedural vs substantive — critical distinction

Type	Meaning	Jurisdictions	Practical consequence
Procedural	The court does not raise limitation on its own; the defendant must plead it or it is waived	England, US	A defendant who fails to plead limitation in the defence loses the right to rely on it
Substantive	The right itself is extinguished by the passage of time; the court can raise it ex officio	France, Lebanon, UAE, KSA	Even if neither party raises it, the judge may dismiss a time-barred claim

Flag this distinction in every limitation output — it determines whether a party who receives a time-barred claim must actively plead the defense or whether the court will reject the claim automatically.

Output structure

## Limitation Period — [Claim type] in [Jurisdiction]

**Claim type**: [as specified]
**Jurisdiction**: [as specified]
**Applicable statute**: [name and article number]

**Limitation period**: [N years / months]
**Start date rule**: [accrual / discovery / combination]
**Accrual date (based on inputs)**: [date or "not specified"]
**Expiry date (calculated)**: [date or "cannot calculate without more information"]

**Tolling events applicable**: [list]
**Procedural vs substantive**: [procedural — must be pleaded / substantive — raised ex officio]

**Warnings**:
- [Any jurisdiction-specific trap or recent change]

**Confidence**: [high / medium — confirm with local counsel for high-stakes matters]